Strapping device



H. J. SPENCER l STRAPPING DEVICE' Friled July 15, 19,59 4 sheets-sheet 41 INVE-ron Hef'mandpencef May 19, 1942. H. SPENCER 2,283,827-

STRAPRING DEVICE Filed July l5, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Figo 4K. Fig 5' 45" 56 f5 M45 49 *[55 M J6 P48 40 56 `L 46 2 '52 May 19 1942- I H. J. SPENCER 2,283,827

' STRAPPING DEVICE Filed July `15, 1959 4 sheets-sheet s l?" 7o l 13j- 1y mi .40

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l 43 25 5, 52 f' :Z545 67 I, 8 44 .a `\\\`.x/ 24 E 59 l l. Z7 5.9 3 A- 2 INVENTOR Hermandpencer May 19, 1942-A H. J. SPENCER 2,283,827

STRAPPING DEVICE INVENTOR Hermandpencef Patented May 19, 1942 UNETED STATES grani orties Leechgrip Company, tion of Pennsylvania Pittsburgh, Pa., a corpora- Applicaticn July 15, 1939, Serial Nc. 284,671

19 Claims. `(Cl. 140-93) The present invention relates to a device for securing together the ends of a metallic reinforcing strapA or band which has been passed around a container, package or bundle and more particularly to a device of this type which can be used for fastening together the overlapping strap ends of relatively heavy gauge material by means of a fiat clip seal which is likewise of relatively heavy gauge. The present invention is particularly applicable to heavyl duty work such as car loading but it will be appreciated as the description proceeds that various features of the present invention can be embodied in machines for lighter work.

Devices of this general character have been known heretofore but none of those with which I am familiar is suitable for heavy duty Work. The purpose of the present invention is to produce a strap fastening device which can be utilized for such Work and which is characterized by simplicity, low cost of construction and a high degree of effectiveness Vin operation and which requires little or no maintenance.

In accordance with the present invention, I provide a device which includes tightening apparatus for tightening the band, mechanism,v for shearing the excess strap after the tightening operation has been completed, and apparatus for bending a seal around the overlapped strap ends and for crimping the seal and the strap, The mechanism which I provide for shearing the excess strap also serves to hold one end ofv the strap during the tightening operation. The tightening mechanism and the shearing mechanism are preferably positioned adjacent each other on one side of the bending and crimping or forming mechanism and integrally embodied in the device so as to provide a unitary Structure but as the description. of a specific embodiment of my invention proceeds it will be evident that the tightening and shearing mechanism can be embodied in a device separate from the forming mechanism. The tightening and shearing mechanisms are of such character and cooperate together in such a way that the strap, at the time it is sheared, will be placed under substantial tension. The shear and the tightening mechanism Vare arranged so the tightening mechanism will pull the strap through the shear during the tightening operation while the shear mechanism at the same time operates to hold the one end 0f the strap securely in position around the container or bundle.

The bending and crimping mechanism which y I provide is of such character that a at seal can be fed into the device and bent around the strap ends and the seal and the strap crimped by the positive operation of rotatable camsY or the like. The various operating parts are so arranged that the use of a presser head such as is normally -used in devices of this character is entirely eliminated. This greatly simplifies the construction and operation of the device.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown for purposes of illustration only a preferred embodiment of my invention.

In the drawings:

'Figure 1 is a iront elevational view of the device which I provide;

Figure 2 is a plan vieW of the structure shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section through the center of the bending and crimping mechanism along the plane of line III--III of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is Va view similar to Figure 3 with the parts` shown in a different position;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figures 3 and 4 with the parts shown in a still different position;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figures 3, 4 and 5 showing the parts at the completion of the bending and crimping operation;

Figure 7 is a longitudinal section taken along the line VII-VII of Figure 2;

Figure 8 is a section through the head of the bending and crimping mechanism;

Figure 9 is a plan view of the head shown in Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a partial vertical section through the ram of the bending and crimping mechanism; p y

Figure 11 is a section taken along the line XI-XI of Figure 1:

Figure 12 is a section taken along the line XII-XII of Figure 11;

Figure 13 is a section taken along XIII-XEII of Figure 2; and

Figure 14 is an end view of the shearmechathe line nism shown in Figure 13.

As shown in the drawings the device which I provide comprises a base 2, a base plate 3 secured thereto, and an upwardly extending standard and casing 4 adapted to support and encase the bending and crimping mechanism. The forward end of the base is feathered as indicated at 5 in order to facilitate the entry of the strap beneath the holding mechanism and the bending and crimping mechanism. The support and casing 4 is rectangular in general conguration and is cut away at various points to permit the entry of the strap beneath the bending and crimping mechanism and to facilitate the various operations. The .base is cut away as indicated at 6 in order to permit the functioning of the bending and crimping mechanism when it is lowered into operative relationship relative to the overlapped strap ends. The base also carries laterally projecting arms or frame members 'i to support the tightening and shearing mechanism and to also support a pin or roller 8 beneath which the strap passes before passing through the shearing mechanism to the tightening mechanism.

The strap 9 is passed around the box, bundle or package to be strapped and the ends overlapped. The sealing device is then brought into position and the overlapped ends are placed beneath the casing 4 in position to be operated upon by the bending and crimping mechanism. Both ends of the strap pass beneath the roller 8. The one portion of the strap passes beneath the holding end of the shearing mechanism indicated generally by the reference character I while the other portion passes through the shearing mechanism between the two cutting elements. This portion of the strap then passes through the tightening mechanism indicated generally by the reference character II. The strap is then in position to be tightened and sealed around the bundle, box or carton.

The tightening mechanism II comprises a rotatable shaft I2 having a square end portion I3 adapted to receive a handle I5 for rotating the shaft. The shaft is mounted in bearings carried by the laterally extending frame members 1 adjacent one end thereof. Between the frame members the shaft is provided with a sleeve I6 which is keyed to the shaft and rotatable therewith. This sleeve carries a plurality of ratchet holes I1 adapted to receive the bottom end of a ratchet pin I8 carried by a block I9 formed or mounted on the adjacent frame member. This block I9 has a vertically extending opening 2B therein adapted to receive a spring 2| and a set screw 22 for pressing the ratchet pin downwardly into engagement with the holes I1 on the sleeve I6. The end of the shaft I2 which extends forwardly of the front, laterally extending frame member is provided with a slot 23 which is of suiicient depth to receive the one end of the band 9. It will be evident that rotation of the shaft I2 will pull the strap passing through the slot 23 to the left as viewed in Figure 1 so as to tighten it.

During the tightening operation it is necessary to hold the other end of the strap and this is accomplished by the shearing and holding mechanism I0. The shearing and holding mechanism comprises a rotatable shaft 24, a sleeve 25, and an operating handle 25. The shaft and the sleeve 25 which surrounds it are mounted in suitable bearings in the laterally extending frame members 1. The sleeve 25, at its forward end, is provided with a toothed eccentric surface 21 which serves to hold the one end of the strap during the tightening and joint forming operations. The sleeve 25 is normally urged in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figures 1, 2 and 14 of the drawings by a spring 28. One end of the spring is secured to the sleeve by a screw 29 and the other end of the spring bears against the base 2 between the frame members 1. As the sleeve is loosely mounted in the frame member 1 the sleeve will be rotated so that the eccentric toothed surface will be normally urged down onto the strap. The front end of the sleeve is provided with slots and 3| adapted to permit the one end of the strap to be passed through the sleeve. The bottom face of the slot 30 is the cutter bar of the shearing mechanism and cooperates with a cutter 32 carried on the front end of the rotatable shaft 24. The cutter 32 is shown as integral with the shaft but it will be appreciated that the cutter can be made separate from the shaft so as to be readily replaceable. As the shaft 24 is rotated the cutter 32 cooperates with the cutter bar and the strap positioned in the slots 3U and 3l will be sheared from the remainder of the strap.

In order to position the one end of the strap between the base 2 and the toothed eccentric surface 21 of the sleeve 25, the forward end of the cutter is provided with a raised portion 33a on a shoulder 33 which, upon rotation of the handle 26 and the shaft 24, will come in contact with an extension 25a, on the sleeve 25. When these two are brought into contact further rotation of the handle 26 in a counterclockwise direction will rotate the eccentric surface of the sleeve away from the base against the tension of the spring 28 so as to permit the insertion of the strap between the base and the sleeve.

It will be apparent that during the tightening operation any pull exerted on the strap 9 to the left as Viewed in Figure 1 will merely rotate the sleeve and the toothed eccentric surface thereof into tighter contact with the strap.

The bending and crimping mechanism is mounted in the supporting casing 4. It comprises a rotatable shaft 40, a movable head 4I, a ram 42, bending jaws 43 and criming members 44. The shaft is mounted in suitable bearings 45 in the casing 4 near the upper end thereof. One end of the shaft 40 projects rearwardly of the casing 4 and is squared as indicated at 45 to receive an operating handle 41.

The other end of the shaft 49 projects forwardly through the casing and has secured to it a ratchet wheel 48 which is provided with a plurality of ratchet holes 49 around the periphery thereof. These holes are adapted to cooperate with a ratchet pin 50 mounted in a block 5I which is welded or otherwise suitably secured to a side wall of the casing. The block 5I is provided with an opening 52 to receive the pin and to also receive a spring 53 and a screw 54 for exerting pressure on the spring so as to normally urge the pin 59 into engagement with the holes 49 carried by the ratchet wheel 48. It will be understood that the holes are so arranged as to permit rotation of the shaft 40 in one direction only and to restrain it against rotation in the other direction. Between the side walls of the casing 4 the shaft 4I) is provided with a large cam 55 and smaller cams 56. These cams are for the purposepof forcing the head 4I and the ram 42 downwardly to perform the bending and crimping operations.

The head 4I is positioned in the casing 4 and is supported and normally urged upwardly into engagement with the cams 56 by springs 51. The upper ends of the springs 51 abut the bottom of the head 4I and are held in position by pins 58. The bottom ends of these springs bear upon the base plate 3 and are held in proper position by upwardly extending pins 59. The springs 51 are of suicient strength to normally maintain the head 4I tightly against the cams 56.

The ram 42 extends upwardly through a centrally disposed opening 60 in the head 4I and through the centrally disposed recess 6| in the head. The upper end of the ram 42 is threaded to receive a nut 62 which is adapted to provide a bearing for one end of a spring 63 positioned in the recess Gi. The other end of this spring rests on the head 4I at the base of the recess El. This spring is under compression and normally urges the plunger 42 upwardly against the cam 55.

The jaws 43 are supported on pins 54 which are mounted in openings 65 in the head. The jaws 43 are provided with overlapping cam slots 65 through which passes a pin 61 carried by the ram 42 in a hole 68 adjacent the bottom end thereof. It will be evident from this arrangement that when the head 4I and the ram 42 are both moved downwardly the jaws will be maintained in open position and that when the movement of the head stops and the downward movement of the ram continues the pin 61 will move in the overlapping slots and cause the jaws to be brought together to bend the seal around the strap.

The base plate 3 rests upon the base 2 within the casing and is held in position by studs 69. This base plate not only provides support for the bottom ends of the springs 51 but also provides guides for the proper positioning of `a flat clip seal 1d. The base plate is out away to permit the insertion of the seal 70 to an appropriate position beneath the forming jaws and to permit the forming jaws and crimping members to move downwardly beyond the base plate to perform their operations. The front portion of the base plate is cut away as indicated at 'H and the rear portion is provided with an opening l2. The cross piece 73 which is positioned between the front cutaway portion 'Il and the rear opening 'E2 is cut away as indicated at 'i4 to receive the crimping members ed on the bottom of the ram. The sides of the base plate beneath the cross piece 'i5 are provided with guides l5 for guiding the seal 75 to proper position. When the seal is slid into proper position beneath the base plate 3 the rear end thereof strikes the rear end l5 of the guide so that the seal cannot be pushed inwardly beyond the proper position.

After the strap has been passed around the box or the like, and one end has been threaded through the shear mechanism and the tightening mechanism, the tightening mechanism is operated and the strap tightened. Thereafter a seal 'i0 is fed by hand along the guides of the base plate into appropriate position beneath cross-piece of the base plate and over the overlapped strap ends. The operating handle 41 is then grasped by the operator and the shaft 45 rotated. Before the shaft is rotated the various parts are in the position illustrated in Figure 3. As the shaft is rotated the cam 55 and the cams 56 force the head 4l and the ram 42 downwardly together, the cams 55 and 55 being appropriately arranged to accomplish this purpose. This initial rotation of the shaft 40 causes the pins 54 and the jaws mounted thereon to move downwardly. The jaws come in contact with the portions of the seal l0 extending beyond the edges of the overlapped strap ends 9 and bend these edges downwardly. The seal is prevented from bulging in the center during this operation by the cross piece 13 which is positioned immediately above the seal. At the conclusion of this stroke, the parts are in the position shown in Figure 4. Further rotation of the shaft 4% causes the cams 56 to ride over the head 4! without depressing it any further. However, the cam 55 is so arranged that this further rotation of the shaft 4D will force the ram 42 still further downwardly. This downward movement of the ram carries the pin 61 downwardly and as it moves downardly in the overlapping cam slots it pulls the jaws together to bend the seal inwardly around the overlapped strap ends. At the conclusion of this operation the parts are in the position shown in Figure 5. The cam 55 is so designed that further rotation of the shaft il will cause the ram alone to move still further downwardly. This additional downward movement of the ram brings the crimping members 4d into contact with the seal and the overlapped strap ends so that the seal and. strap ends will be crimped to form a permanent joint. At

the conclusion of this operation the parts are inV the position shown in Figure 6.v As soon as the shaft 45 is rotated in the same direction a suicient distance to permit the springs 57 and 63 to do so, the head and the ram are moved upwardly by the springs and the parts are returned to the position shown in Figure 3. The springs are sufficiently strong to rotate the shaft carrying the cams and to return the shaft to normal position. Y

Thereafter the shear lever 26 will be rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figures 1 and 2 vand the shear 32 and the cooperating shear block will cut the end of the strap which extends through the slots 3l! and 3! in the sleeve 25. The device can then readily be removed from the strapped article or bundle.

It will be evident from what has been stated above that the device which I provide by my invention is compact, inexpensive to manufacture, positive in operation, and otherwise suited to heavy duty strapping.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodimentof my invention, it will be understood that I do not intend to be limited to the specific embodiment shown, and that my invention may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for use in fastening together the ends of a binding strap and a seal comprising a base, a shaft rotatably mounted on said base, said shaft having a shear mounted adjacent one en d thereof, a sleeve rotatably mounted on said shaft and carrying a shearing bar adapted to cooperate with said shear, said sleeve having an eccentric face positioned adjacent and normally urged toward the base and arranged to cooperate therewith to hold one end of the binding strap, and an operating handle for rotating said shaft for severing the strap passing between the shear and the shearing bar.

2. Apparatus for use in fastening together the ends of a binding strap and a seal comprising a base, a shaft rotatably mounted on the base, said shaft having a shear mounted adjacent one end thereof, a sleeve rotatably mounted on said shaft and carrying a shearing bar adapted to cooperate with said shear, said sleeve having an eccentric face located adjacent the base and arranged to cooperate therewith to hold one end of the binding strap, means for normally rotating said sleeve to bring the eccentric face of the sleeve into contact with a strap passing between a sleeve and the base, and means including an operating handle movable in one direction to shear the strap and in the other direction to move the eccentric face of the sleeve away from the base.

3. Apparatus for use in fastening together the ends of a binding strap and a seal comprising a base, a shaft rotatably mounted on said base, said shaft having a shear mounted adjacent one end thereof, a sleeve rotatably mounted on said shaft and carrying a shearing bar adapted to cooperate with said shear, said sleeve having an eccentric face positioned adjacent the base and arranged to cooperate therewith to hold one end of the binding strap, means including an operating handle for rotating the shaft carrying said shear for shearing a strap passing between the shear and the shearing bar, means for normally rotating said sleeve to bring the eccentric face of the sleeve into contact with a strap passing between the sleeve and the base, and tightening mechanism for tightening the strap by pulling one end thereof between said sleeve and said shear.

4. Shearing mechanism for` use in an apparatus for fastening together the ends of a binding strap and a seal, and including a frame, forming mechanism on the frame for forming a joint between a seal and the overlapping strap ends, and tightening mechanism carried by the frame for tightening the strap, said shearing mechanism comprising a rotatable shear member positioned between the forming mechanism and the tightening mechanism, a relatively fixed shear member cooperating therewith for shearing the strap, and means whereby said Xed shear member holds one strap end when tension is applied to the other strap end.

5. Shearing mechanism for use in an apparatus for fastening together the ends of a binding strap and a seal, and including a frame and forming mechanism thereon for forming a joint between a seal and the overlapping strap ends, said shearing mechanism comprising a rotatable shear member positioned adjacent the forming mechanism, and a reltively iixed shear member cooperating therewith for shearing the strap, and means whereby said last-mentioned shear member holds one strap end when tension is applied to the other strap end.

6. Shearing mechanism for use in an apparatus for fastening together the ends of a binding strap and a seal, and including a frame, and tightening mechanism carried by the frame for tightening the strap, said shearing mechanism comprising a rotatable shaft having a shear member thereon mounted on the frame aljacent the tightening mechanism, a relatively xed shear member cooperating therewith for shearing strap, and means whereby said xed shear member holds one strap end when tension is applied to the other strap end.

7. Apparatus for fastening together the ends of a binding strap and a seal comprising a frame, means carried by the frame for holding one end of the strap, tightening mechanism mounted on the frame cooperating with the other end of the strap for tightening it, a rotary shear member mounted on the frame for shearing the strap, and a relatively fixed shear member on said holding means cooperating with said rotary shear member.

8. shearing mechanism for use in an apparatus for fastening together the ends of a binding strap and a seal which includes a base, a frame and forming mechanism thereon for forming a joint between a seal and the overlapping strap ends, said shearing mechanism comprising means cooperating with said base to hold one end of sald strap, a shearing edge formed on said means, and a rotary shear member on the base cooperating with said edge.

9. Shearing mechanism for use in an apparatus for fastening together the ends of a binding strap and a seal which includes a frame, means forming a joint between the seal and the lapped ends of the strap, and means on said frame for tightening said strap, said shearing means comprising a movable shear member and a relatively fixed shear member cooperating therewith, said xed member having means effective to hold one strap end when tension is applied to the other strap end by said tightening means.

10. Mechanism as deined by claim 9 characterized by means for manually operating said movable shear member and means whereby said movable shear member actuates said relatively xed shear member to a position permitting insertion of a strap end for engagement thereby.

HERMAN J. SPENCER. 

